I’m Going on an Adventure!!! (Fictionally and in Reality)
I haven’t really talked about it on the blog at all, but very soon I will be moving! I’ll be moving first to a place about 3 hours from me now, and then across the country. Which is a big move, since the US is a LARGE country lol. My partner and I will be taking time on our road trip to vacation and visit some places along the way. So I figured, what better time to talk about some books with journeys/quests/adventures?
Sabriel
- Author: Garth Nix
- Target audience: young adult
- Series info: first in a series (main story complete, prequels and etc. forthcoming)
This book is one of my favorite books ever. I love the audiobook, and frequently reread via audio. The book is titled after our main character, and 18 year old Sabriel. Her father goes missing at the beginning of the book, and she has to go into the Old Kingdom to find him. She has grown up in the nonmagical land of Ancelstierre, and the Old Kingdom is FULL of magic. She journeys through the Old Kingdom and fights monsters, the dead, and other creatures on the way. There is necromancy, a magical cat being, and lots more.
An Artificial Night
- Author: Seanan McGuire
- Target audience: adult
- Series info: third in a series (ongoing)
I can practically feel you all rolling your eyes at me for including Seanan McGuire but listen. I had to!! This is the third book in the October Daye series which you know is one of my favs. In this novel, Toby must travel to (and through) the realm of Blind Michael, as he is kidnapping fae and mortal children. The story is DARK and brutal, but so so amazing. Naturally Toby has a few companions along the way, but I won’t say too much about that since I don’t want to spoil anything.
Here is the link to the first book if you want to check that out. And don’t worry, the Goodreads synopsis for this book (An Artificial Night) is relatively spoiler free!
Over the Woodward Wall
- Author: A. Deborah Baker (aka Seanan McGuire)
- Target audience: middle grade
- Series info: first (novella) in a series (ongoing)
This is a funny little novella. In Seanan’s novel Middlegame, there are excerpts from this book – which at the time Middlegame was published, did not exist. So what does Seanan do? She writes this book. Yep. Middlegame is one of my like, top favorite books. And I love everything Seanan. So naturally I had to get this one haha.
The story follows two children, Avery and Zib, as they are transported into a magical world, and travel through it to get back home. It reads like an original fairytale, and I love it with my whole heart. Even if you haven’t read Middlegame, this is a story worth reading.
Burning Roses
- Author: S.L. Huang
- Target audience: adult
- Series info: standalone novella
I’ve talked about this one a lot (here, here, and here), so I’ll be brief. This is a sapphic fairytale retelling, featuring Western fairytales and Chinese mythology. Our two main characters are on a quest to defeat two deadly sunbirds that are ravaging the country. There is so much more to this story than that basic quest, and it’s truly a wonderful book. I’d love to reread it soon!
Eight Will Fall
- Author: Sarah Harian
- Target audience: young adult
- Series info: standalone
I feel like this book is super underrated!!! I got it in a book subscription box, but other than those posts I haven’t seen it anywhere really. Which is too bad because I think it’s great!! It’s a mix of fantasy and a little bit of horror/suspense/thriller – though not too scary at all haha. You know me, I’m a baby. Anyway, this book is about a group of criminals (who all have magic) that is sent to an underground realm to kill an ancient evil. The realm is filled with scary monsters and horrors and creatures and weird stuff. It was such a gripping read!! I had to keep reading to see if they would survive the journey.
The Bone Maker
- Author: Sarah Beth Durst
- Target audience: adult
- Series info: standalone
I mentioned this in my mid-year check in, because it has a wonderful found family in it!! This family also needs to travel to a forbidden battlefield in order to retrieve ingredients for a spell. Illegal ingredients, I might add. But for a good reason?? It’s complicated haha. Which makes it just that much more interesting! Of course things don’t go to plan, and maybe the big bad they defeated years ago is still alive?? I loved this book, and I think all of you should read it. Sarah Beth Durst’s novels are definitely underrated! And if you wanna see my review for this one, you can find it here.
Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters
- Author: Aimee Ogden
- Target audience: adult
- Series info: standalone
Speaking of underrated books, here’s another one for you!! I first talked about it when I reviewed it, but I actually also put it on my The Happy Place 5 post about underrated books haha. In it, the main character has to travel off-planet in order to find a cure for the disease afflicting her husband and his clan. So a space journey!!! Yes. I love it. It’s also casually queer, a loose retelling of The Little Mermaid, and just beautiful. I hope you check it out.
The Boneless Mercies
- Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
- Target audience: young adult
- Series info: standalone
Another RETELLING haha. I talked a little bit about it in my first post about retellings. This is a retelling of Beowulf, centering a group of mercenary girls who go on a quest to kill an unstoppable monster. Though this sounds like a big epic adventure, it’s actually a little slower paced which I really liked. We get to know the characters a bit better that way! And it’s kind of nice to have a book without romance haha.
Empress of Forever
- Author: Max Gladstone
- Target audience: adult
- Series info: standalone
This book is such a wild and wonderful ride!! I don’t know how I’ve never talked about it on the blog before. Our main character, Vivian Liao, is a science/tech genius (think Steve Jobs). To outrun and escape her enemies, she launches herself into the future. Yes, the future. However, Vivian just really wants to go back home. But the future is ruled by an all-powerful Empress, and in order to get back home she must journey through space while battling monsters, machines, and other enemies. It’s such an underrated book!!
What are some of your favorite fictional journeys (or quests)?
Good luck with your move!!